Writing: Punctuation and Grammar Flashcards

Which of the following sentences uses commas correctly?

Answer: The tour guide, a cheerful and knowledgeable woman, pointed out several historical landmarks.

The phrase 'a cheerful and knowledgeable woman' is an appositive, which provides extra information about the noun 'tour guide'. Appositives must be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas.

Read the following sentence: 'The citys main attraction, the old clock tower, is currently under repair.' Which word contains a punctuation error?

Answer: citys

The word 'citys' requires an apostrophe to show possession. Since the city possesses the main attraction, the correct form is 'city's'.

Which sentence is grammatically correct and avoids a run-on error?

Answer: The storm raged all night. The power went out for three hours.

This option correctly separates two independent clauses (complete thoughts) into two distinct sentences using a full stop. The other options either create a comma splice (joining two independent clauses with only a comma) or a fused sentence (no punctuation between clauses).

A student is writing a persuasive essay about school uniforms. Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of a colon?

Answer: There is one main reason to support school uniforms: they promote a sense of equality among students.

A colon is used correctly here to introduce an explanation or elaboration of the preceding independent clause. The first clause, 'There is one main reason to support school uniforms,' is a complete sentence that is explained by the clause following the colon.

Which of the following sentences correctly uses an apostrophe to show a contraction?

Answer: They're planning to visit the museum tomorrow.

The word 'They're' is the correct contraction for 'They are'. 'Its' is possessive, 'Your' should be 'You're' (you are), and 'it's' (it is) is needed in the last option, not the possessive 'its'.

A student has written the following sentence: 'After the movie ended we all went out for pizza.' How should this sentence be corrected?

Answer: After the movie ended, we all went out for pizza.

The phrase 'After the movie ended' is an introductory dependent clause. A comma is required to separate an introductory clause from the main (independent) clause that follows.